Review: Canon Pixma iP100 with Battery printer

Truly portable pictures

Truly portable photo printers are quite rare these days, although Canon has long produced them.

The company's new Pixma iP100 offers both text and photo printing, and its internal battery and small dimensions mean it really can be carried around.

It was easy to set up, with a simple quick start guide in the box, and a good installation CD. It works fine off the mains, but adding the battery pack requires screwing in a separate cradle (supplied in the box). It's an easy enough process.

The iP100 has no memory card slots and nor is there a screen, but it does have a USB port so you can connect Pictbridge-compatible cameras and print directly. There's also a USB input to attach it to a PC.

Print quality overall was impressive, with good photos even on standard paper. On photo paper, results were even better, and it's not too slow. Borderless 6x4in photo prints came out in 54 seconds, and text printing at eight pages per minute in fast mode or around 34 seconds per page in high quality. Text quality was likewise very impressive even in the fast draft mode. The only downside – and it's a large one – is the high initial cost, but if you need a portable printer this is definitely the one to get.

Vista compatibility: Yes